* After finishing their three-game road
trip on a high note with a 1-0 shutout victory over the Sharks,
Boston came home and dropped a 4-3 decision to the Maple Leafs, who
had really struggled to nail down regulation wins on the road
coming in.

* The Stars put an end to a six-game skid on Tuesday with a 5-2
win over the sad excuse of an NHL team that is the Edmonton Oilers.
During their six-game losing streak, Dallas allowed 26 goals.

ON A ROLL

ICE COLD

FUN FACTS

Dan Paille (6 pts last 8 GP)

Carl Soderberg (8 pts last 9 GP)

David Krejci (0 pts last 5 GP)

Milan Lucic (1 goal last 18 GP)

* Shawn Thornton led the Norfolk Admirals with 281 penalty
minutes in 2001-02. Stars forward Vern Fiddler was a first-year pro
on the team that season.

* David Krejci has no goals in six career games against
Dallas.

Ryan Garbutt (5 pts last 3 GP)

Cody Eakin (3 pts last 3 GP)

Erik Cole (1 pt last 4 GP)

Tyler Seguin (1 pt last 6 GP)

* Dallas will wisely not be putting Dan Ellis in net. The
33-year-old veteran is 0-3-0 with a 4.43 goals-against average in
four career games against the B's.

* Former Bruin Rich Peverley has gone 22 consecutive games
without a goal.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

* Reilly Smith and Loui Eriksson will each be appearing in their
first game back in Dallas since being traded to Boston last July.
Like every other pro athlete, they've likely provided plenty of
cookie-cutter quotes claiming they'll treat this just like any of
the other 82 regular-season contests. Don't be surprised if they
show they've got a little extra juice when they hit the ice,
however.

* Note: The following was written before the update came
that Chad Johnson would be starting.

With all this talk about Tuukka Rask being run into the ground,
if fatigue is really to blame, give him the night off. Kari
Lehtonen's got a 3.05 goals-against average since the start of
December, as the Stars have been giving up goals by the bushel of
late. Even if you don't get a lights-out performance from Chad
Johnson, it seems like as good a time as any to roll the dice and
throw him out there against a struggling opponent.

* The B's first line is overdue for a breakout game. Milan Lucic
has one goal since the start of December, David Krejci's in a
five-game point drought and Jarome Iginla has 0-1-1 totals in his
last four games. Boston faces good-to-great goaltending in the next
three games after this, starting with a trip to Chicago Sunday, a
matinee against the Kings Monday and a visit to Philly the
following Saturday. Schedule quirks aside, you'd hate to see Krejci
-- the B's leading point-getter -- go what would wind up being more
than three weeks without a point. They should be able to muster
something against the Stars and hopefully get back on track.